CLEVELAND — Over 100 people gathered for an alternate graduation ceremony called the People’s Graduation at Wade Lagoon for students from Case Western Reserve. The graduation ceremony was for some students who still don’t know if they will receive their diplomas.
Jad Kamwhawi Oglesby is one of the dozens who participated in the alternate ceremony; he is also the vice president of Students for Justice for Palestine.
“The reason why this commencement was held is because many students, such as myself, were not able to participate in the formal commencement," said Oglesby.
Oglesby was one of the students who participated in an almost two-week encampment; the group eventually blocked access to Adelbert Hall on the CWRU campus.
The university sent letters to students barring them from campus and announced they will be withholding degrees from students who may have been involved in the protesting of the Israel-Hamas war, as well as starting a student conduct investigation.
“Despite me working hard for four years achieved by double majoring in political science and economics, I was unable to participate in commencement. Thankfully, community members, family and students helped organize this beautiful event and it was once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Oglesby.
Oglesby said they were prepared for the worst and have no regrets.
"There are so many students here who have endured the 11 days of the encampment and throughout their struggles here at Case Western Reserve, so it was great to connect with them and impart some last few words,” said Oglesby.
Raissa Rih’Reh is a part of the Students for Justice for Palestine; she said the turnout was much bigger than they imagined.
“This is beautiful - better than anything we can imagine, mostly everyone here today made the decision to come out to support and I cannot express how grateful I am and how grateful we are as a community to have the support,” said Rih’Reh.
The alternative commencement did not go without a challenge; there were protesters who disagreed with the people’s graduation.
“The people who are here today are people who also at our encampment. They tried to disrupt us, but the celebration is too beautiful. What we're doing the work we're doing is too important and we know that we're going to face trials and tribulations along the way,” said Rih’Reh.
